Volume 1: Rainbow Flames [A Pokémon Fanfic]

Chapter 4: Hidden Truths

The sun's rays peaked through the window, hitting Amber's sleeping face and making her groan softly. She had not slept well that night, for the one too many thoughts kept swarming her mind, which made it impossible to rest easy.

She sat up and yawned softly, stretching a bit until she heard a satisfying 'pop' from her back. And, as soon as she heard that, she fell back down into the bed. Proceeding to bury her face in the pillow. "Ughhh... why is it morning already?..." She said to herself, her voice muffled against the soft cotton as she shifted to her side, hugging herself. She didn't want to avoid him or tell him the truth, not yet at least to either of those options. And yet the boat docked at Vermillion City tomorrow, making herself panicked at her undecided answer.

"... How do I push him away? Maybe give him the cold shoulder?..." She asked herself, now looking up at the ceiling. "... yeah, maybe that could work. The cold attitude always seems to push people away..."

Once making her decision, she finally got out of bed. Yawning softly, she stumbled her way into the bathroom to freshen up for the day. "Okay, it's a bit early, so he's probably not up at the moment... Yeah, he seems like the type that likes to sleep in..." She muttered sleepily before looking at herself in the mirror.

Much like her normal sleepless nights, dark circles were already forming under her eyes, but compared to her mess of red hair, it was minor. She grumbled softly at the sight before stripping off her clothes and stepping into the shower. Turning it on, she let the cool water cascade over her body while getting lost in her thoughts once more.

While her hands did the automatic task of washing herself, her gaze went to the scars she had to bear seeing every day, and the ones she tried so hard to hide underneath her gloves. Even to this day, the memories of the past still haunt her, as a shudder passed through her spine. But, to avoid the remembrance, she brought her attention to when she revealed a small part of the past to Gold. And the look he had when he saw her impurities. The emotion that passed through his eyes, it still stuck with her in the back of her head. Was it disgust? Sympathy? Or maybe even anger?

Before her thoughts became consumed by the golden-eyed trainer, she shook her head and mentally scolded herself to stop it. Once she was done with showering, she turned it off and just simply closed her eyes. The fiery orange glow appeared around her as it dried up the remaining water on her, evaporating it and making herself dry.

She nimbly stepped out of the shower and made the glow fade away, changing into fresh clothes before grabbing a brush and getting the small tangles out of her hair. She stopped for a second and noticed the rainbow of colors over her bed, spreading all over the white sheets. Deciding it was from the sunlight going through the window, she carried on.

"Alright, what time is it? It's gotta be like, what? 8:15?" She asked herself, glancing over at the clock. But her amber orbs widen at seeing the glowing red digits indicate that she was far from close with her estimation. "Shit, it's 9:30?! Oh, you've got to be kidding me, I thought it was earlier!"

At that, she quickly put her hair up in a messy bun whilst running out of the bathroom, looking around before practically shoving the black converse onto her feet. "Okay, they most likely aren't going to open the dining room until later for lunch, since they serve breakfast too damn early..." She muttered to herself, sighing a bit. "And I've got to feed everyone soon!"

In a blazing panic, she grabbed her satchel bag and dug around inside before letting herself sigh in relief. "Okay, I've still got some snacks and food for everyone, I'll just head outside and feed them. Yeah, that'll work. Hopefully, he's still asleep." She reassured herself, grabbing her sunglasses and placed them over her face. Once deciding she was ready, she headed over to the door and opened it, the plan for that day already in her head.